The 16 Worst Places to Stash Your Stuff

Turns out, how you organize your environment — from where you stand in fitness class to the place you choose to store your meds — has a surprising effect on everything from your weight to your chances of staying well. In other words, when it comes to how you feel, it's not just what you do, it's where you do it. Here, surprisingly bad locales for your health — and the best places to optimize it.

(Note from Kathryn: I just read this online and some of them are grossing me out. Some of them are common sense. You be the judge.)

The worst place for your toothbrush: on the bathroom sink
There's nothing wrong with the sink itself — but it's awfully chummy with the toilet. There are 3.2 million microbes per square inch in the average toilet bowl, and when you flush, aerosolized toilet funk is propelled as far as six feet, settling on the floor, the sink, and your toothbrush. Ewww.

The worst place to set your handbag: the kitchen counter
Your fancy handbag is a major tote for microbes: germ swabs showed up to 10,000 bacteria per square inch on purse bottoms — and a third of the bags tested positive for fecal bacteria! A woman's carryall gets parked in some nasty spots: on the floor of the bus, beneath the restaurant table — even on the floor of a public bathroom. Put your bag in a drawer or on a chair — anywhere except where food is prepared or eaten.

The worst place for your sneakers and flip-flops: in the bedroom closet
Walking through your house in shoes you wear outside is a great way to track in allergens and contaminants.

The worst place to cool leftovers: in the refrigerator
Placing a big pot of hot edibles directly into the fridge is a recipe for uneven cooling and possibly food poisoning. The reason: It can take a long time for the temperature in the middle of a big container to drop, creating a cozy environment for bacteria. You can safely leave food to cool on the counter for up to an hour after cooking, or divvy up hot food into smaller containers and then refrigerate — it'll cool faster.

The worst stall to pick in a public restroom: the one in the middle
The center stall has more bacteria than those on either end.

The worst place for a nighttime reading light: overhead
These fixtures put out relatively bright light — enough to significantly delay the body's secretion of melatonin. That can wreck your night, since rising melatonin levels are a major cue for your body to prepare for sleep. A low-power light clipped to your novel will let you read but leave the room dark enough for your brain to transition into sleep mode.

The worst place to keep medicine: the medicine cabinet
It's not uncommon for the temp in a steamy bathroom to reach 100°F — well above the recommended storage temperatures for many common drugs. To stay out of the red zone, store your meds in a cool, dry place, such as the pantry.

The worst place to set fruit before washing it: the kitchen sink
Of all the household germ depots, the kitchen sink sees the most bacterial traffic — even more than the toilet. If the perfect berry drops while you're washing it, pop it in the trash — not your mouth.

The worst place for your coffee: the refrigerator or freezer
Think that you're preserving freshness by stashing it in the fridge? Think again. Every time you take it out of the fridge or freezer, you expose it to fluctuating temperatures, which produces condensation. The best spot to store beans or grounds: in an opaque, airtight container kept on the counter or in the pantry.

The worst place for your TV: wherever you dine
Studies show that distraction is your waistline's enemy — it can keep you from noticing how much you're eating. In a 2006 study, volunteers ate faster when watching TV than while listening to music — consuming 71 percent more macaroni and cheese when watching a show.